AbstractIn
complément of recent publications about Mona LisaWhat
were the true colors when the Mona Lisa
left Leonardo da Vinci’s workshop ?

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Abstract

Lumiere
Technology, a start-up based in Paris, reveals the true colors of the Mona Lisa.

Pascal
Cotte, engineer and founder of Lumiere Technology, largely contributed to the
knowledge of the Mona Lisa thanks to
the multispectral digitization of the famous painting, whose report is detailed
in the famous book “Mona Lisa - Inside
the Painting”, recently published by Abrams
in USA, Gallimard
& the Editions of the Louvre in France, Shirmer Mosel in Germany.

The
hidden knowledge of the true colors was revealed by multispectrally scanning
the painting in thirteen channels – from Ultra Violet to Infra Red.Then the spectral response curve of the
varnish in each pixel was isolated and subtracted from the digital file to
virtually reveal the surface of the painting when it had freshly exited Leonardo da Vinci’s workshop.

This
virtual removal of years of accumulated varnish is an illustration of Lumiere
Technology’s technical knowledge that will now be marketed as an exclusive
digitization service to museums and private fine art collections worldwide.

The
true revolution that Pascal Cotte developed enables the in-depth study of fine
art paintings using a numerical file to reveal the true pigments for viewing
and analysis without touching or damaging the paintings.

Lumiere
Technology offers this service to museums worldwide as a unique, single tool to
assess, analyze, authenticate, restore and reproduce their masterpieces of fine
art.

"Physical
removal of brittle varnish that weighs on a painting’s surface –
particularly in delicately-painted facial complexion areas - would be very
risky.Touchless multispectral
digitization makes this possible.”

The
painting can now be virtually restored through digital varnish removal

"The
thinning of accumulated varnish presents the painting’s intermediate state that
the Museum of the Louvre could be obtained after a restoration.Our contribution on scientific bases to a
crucial question"

A fur-lined coat rests on the Mona Lisa’s knees:

"In the
painting’s “unfinished” section a fur-lined coat rests on the Mona Lisa’s knees.Infra-red analysis under the painting’s
surface reveals the position of the arm, hand and fingers moved as the
artist evolved the final painting.

"

There
is a modern artifact on the painting

!

“Virtual Analysis
without touching the painting, revealed a tiny orange speck of “Minium” in the middle of the sky.This may have been caused by an
unfortunate handling of the painting or a projection during maintenance
performed in the Museum before the painting was protected by glass.”

.

The
painting is proven to have shrunk

,

"Knowing
the mathematical rigor of Leonardo da
Vinci who adhered to the harmonic rectangle (the diagonal of the square of
the rectangle is equal to the height of the rectangle) to ensure the ‘divine
proportions’ essential to the harmony of a portrait and being assured of the
total absence of distortion in our optical measurement, we could apply these
factors to accurately determine the dimensions of the original poplar wood
panel.
The panel’s width has shrunk to
53.2 cm from its original 55.5 cm dimension.
An interesting fact to be clarified.

What
were the true colors when the Mona Lisa
left Leonardo da Vinci’s workshop?

The
Mona Lisa painting has been subjected
to many experiments, whose results are the subject of the book, “Mona Lisa, inside the painting” that
explores the mystery of this work’s creation.While Canadians conclude pregnancy because of the veil that covers the
lady’s chest, the Japanese have simulated her speech.

But,
the mystery remains for specialists to interrogate the painting’s original
colors before protective varnish was applied.

The
sfumato technique applied by Leonardo di Vinci makes any restoration
perilous.According to the French expert
of Da Vinci technique, Jacques Frank,
“to attempt to unvarnish the Mona Lisa
would involve touching the surface, with the risk to irrevocably damage or erase
the famous smile.Furthermore, the
varnish may not be able to be physically differentiated from the pigments.”

This
conclusion heightens the reality of lightening or eliminating varnished
numerically without human contact to physically touch the original.

2
years ago, In October 2004, Pascal Cotte, the inventor of Lumiere Technology’s
multispectral camera, digitized the famous masterpiece in the Louvre’s basement
Laboratory of the Museums of France.

The
digitized file attained an amazing definition of 240 million pixels and an
unequalled scientific precision to enable the study of pigments on the
painting’s surface.The spectral
knowledge of each pixel, from ultra-violet to infra-red light rays, revealed
the painting’s history by guaranteeing the colorimetry with a
never-before-attained acuity.

The
proposal to lighten the paintings historically-accumulated varnish was then
collaborated with Francois Perego, author of the famous “Dictionary of
Materials of the Painter”, who assessed for Lumiere Technology a simulation of
varnish aging.

The
result of analysis and virtual restoration is clear for all to see.The model seems younger and the sky is blue
as Leonardo da Vinci had originally painted with Lapis lazuli, the most
expensive pigment to buy, actually more than 20.000 $ the Kg !

“What is new is that scientific knowledge of paintings can
now leave laboratories.. Conservators, curatots, experts and private collectors worldwide
will very easily have access to a multispectral digital file on their own
personal computer with an accuracy never made before.This will make possible to scientifically
enlarge portions, without losing image definition, to leisurely see previous
restorations of these most beautiful images.” Said Pascal Cotte."

A
workshop of digitizing functions already exists in the center of Paris.Paintings can be multispectrally scanned in
full physical safety in less than one hour to enable infinite potential for
research, understanding and sharing.

“Lumiere Technology has ambition to install Multispectral
rooms in museums to digitize Painting and drawing for the future. Studying
pictorial artwork with this accuracy and fidelity is out of the world, said our
users..It is a new way for Art studies and reproduction “

This multispectral camera is a major inventgion that pakes it possible for our company to go beyond traditional techniques to transform the worldwide digitla conservation, study and sharing of cultural heritage, that's Google does not do yet!

Remember the dream of Bill
Gates who wanted to show on his LCD screen on the walls Fine Arts
paintings. We are now able to deliver the "reality" of the true color palette
of a painting, on different illuminants in the room, sunlight, tungsten,
candle, as he'll wish.. Even if you are amblyopic, you will see as you and me the
true colors."..

Lumiere
Technology is presently collaborating with centers of expertise throughout the
world including the C2RMF, the National Galleries in London
and Washington,
DC., the Rochester Institute of Technology and the Cleveland Museum of Art.